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Dark Magick #3
Dark Enchantment
A lover's bond or a deadly bind...
A sultry dream can become a real-life nightmare...
Accounting consultant Charlotte Bennett isn't the type to lose control. Until she's seduced in a dream by a handsome, rugged man. In her dream state, she decides to let loose, letting pleasure and desire lead the way. But she quickly discovers her "safe" night of passion has dangerous repercussions.
The lust-driven dream was in fact a magick illusion that's left Charlotte bound indefinitely to a controlling fae named Kieran. Under his order, she must find the last piece of a powerful relic. Only Charlotte knows the location of the final piece of the bosca fadbh, but the knowledge is hidden deep within her bloodline—and only wicked magick can draw it out.
Forced to work with the enticing Kieran, Charlotte finds it hard to escape their seductive chemistry, even though he's harboring a deadly curse— one that puts Charlotte in danger and that could make this attraction fatal...
A sultry dream can become a real-life nightmare...
Accounting consultant Charlotte Bennett isn't the type to lose control. Until she's seduced in a dream by a handsome, rugged man. In her dream state, she decides to let loose, letting pleasure and desire lead the way. But she quickly discovers her "safe" night of passion has dangerous repercussions.
The lust-driven dream was in fact a magick illusion that's left Charlotte bound indefinitely to a controlling fae named Kieran. Under his order, she must find the last piece of a powerful relic. Only Charlotte knows the location of the final piece of the bosca fadbh, but the knowledge is hidden deep within her bloodline—and only wicked magick can draw it out.
Forced to work with the enticing Kieran, Charlotte finds it hard to escape their seductive chemistry, even though he's harboring a deadly curse— one that puts Charlotte in danger and that could make this attraction fatal...
305 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
30 people are currently reading
1278 people want to read
About the author
Anya Bast
67 books1,452 followersAnya Bast is the author of numerous works of romantic fiction, mostly all paranormal and mostly all scorching hot. She lives in the country with her husband, daughter, eight cats, a dog, and an odd assortment of rescued animals.
She grew up in Minnesota and still favors the colder climates. After high school she moved to the southeast United States where she attended college. While in graduate school she sold her first book and decide to pursue her lifelong dream of writing instead of a career in psychology.
Somewhat reclusive by nature, she can be drawn out with a good bottle of red wine, classic movies, or good music. When she’s not writing, she can be found trying to grow organic vegetables, shopping in thrift stores for that perfect piece of clothing, or dreaming about travel to some faraway country.
She’s hard at work on a brand new series for Berkley Sensation right now, while winding up her national bestselling Elemental Witches quartet.
She grew up in Minnesota and still favors the colder climates. After high school she moved to the southeast United States where she attended college. While in graduate school she sold her first book and decide to pursue her lifelong dream of writing instead of a career in psychology.
Somewhat reclusive by nature, she can be drawn out with a good bottle of red wine, classic movies, or good music. When she’s not writing, she can be found trying to grow organic vegetables, shopping in thrift stores for that perfect piece of clothing, or dreaming about travel to some faraway country.
She’s hard at work on a brand new series for Berkley Sensation right now, while winding up her national bestselling Elemental Witches quartet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
April 1, 2011
Originally posted at http://www.smexybooks.com/2011/03/rev...
Favorite Quote: “Did you think we were going to the Rose; the tower of sunshine, lollipops, and unicorns that poop rainbows?”
Charlotte Bennett never imagined that succumbing to an erotic dream would catapult her into the middle of the battle between mankind and Fae.
During the Great Sweep, the Seelie and Unseelie courts were defeated by mankind and imprisoned in a place called Piefferberg. Policed by the Phaendir; the Fae have been secretly working with humans sympathetic to their cause to find five hidden Fae relics that combined together will free them.
Charlotte Bennett has been raised to hate the Fae; taught from birth that they had killed her mother. When Charlotte has an erotic dream filled with unbelievable passion she never dreams that it is actually a spell to bind her to Kieran Aindreas Cairbre Aimhrea.
Kieran is of the Unseelie court. A cursed Fae, he has bond Charlotte to him in order to unlock her memories. For she alone holds the key to the other piece of the bosca fadbh. As Charlotte enters the Unseelie court her life becomes a unstoppable whirlwind as she battles both court and Kieran for her freedom.
Dark Enchantment is the third installment in Anya Bast’s dark and sensual world of the fae. Well-plotted and cast with characters that are strong and personable, Dark Enchantment is filled with taunt suspense, delicious betrayal, and dangerous antagonists. A fascinating read that captured me from page one. Strong characters drive this story opposed to the last two installments which spent more time laying the foundation of the arc and it’s key players. Now we are in the present and it has enhanced the storyline for me.
Ms. Bast takes Fae mythology and mixes it new lore to produce a stunning urban fantasy world that first starts in Wicked Enchantment and continues it’s dark and dangerous journey in Dark Enchantment. Instead of being overburdened by overwrought interpretation and world building at the sacrifice of story, or being heavy on story but leaving the world largely undefined, Dark Enchantment continues the arc’s perfect balance and hits all the right notes. The world building is a perfect blending of seductive romance, non stop action, realistic main characters, secondary characters, and intriguing betrayal. Well thought out and fast paced, it creates a satisfying arc of development for the main characters and culminates in two very different sort of conflicts - one that threatens the lives of Kieran and Charlotte and one that threatens their hearts.
I loved Charlotte from the first page. She doesn’t take kindly to having her free will stripped from her and she fights Kieran every step of the way in the beginning. Both of them intelligent, strong willed, and very independent. Watching the two of them pit their will against each other is very funny at times. One humorous moment is when Charlotte realizes that the bond actually dissipates the closer they are to each other. When she tries to escape, Kieran sarcastically tells Niall not to worry, that she can’t get far.
“What were you saying about how she wouldn’t get very far?”
“Goibhniu, looks like she’s gotten herself cab.”
“Kieran, I hate to point the obvious, but she’s getting away.”
Even though she is understandably furious with Kieran for his duplicity; the issue is negated in a realistic manner and the focus slides elegantly to the issue at hand-finding the relic.
Kieran is a fascinating mixture anger and remorse as he deals with Charlotte. Angry and unsocial through the last two installments; in this one we dig deep into his background and emotional make up to see why he is the way he is. He must use Charlotte and keep her at arms length yet he goes out of his way to show her the beauty of the Fae and make her stay comfortable. As Charlotte’s memories are unlocked, she learns more about her family and the night her mother died, leaving her with more unanswered questions.
The chemistry between Charlotte and Kieran is apparent from the beginning, but it flairs hot and sweet as they spend more time getting to truly know each other. I found myself completely engrossed in their very romantic affair. There are some steamy smexy scenes that made me think I need to find me a Fae for my own.
All in all Dark Enchantment is a satisfying read in every way. A unbelievable ride that I could not and did not want to end. I cannot WAIT for #4 of the Dark Magic series, Midnight Enchantment, which is due out in January 2012. We finally get Niall’s story. I will definitely continue to read and recommend this series to everyone. One small note-I do not recommend reading this as a stand alone. Even though each one has a resolvable main conflict, the arc and characters bleed over into each book and you miss much by not starting at the beginning.
Rating: A
Favorite Quote: “Did you think we were going to the Rose; the tower of sunshine, lollipops, and unicorns that poop rainbows?”
Charlotte Bennett never imagined that succumbing to an erotic dream would catapult her into the middle of the battle between mankind and Fae.
During the Great Sweep, the Seelie and Unseelie courts were defeated by mankind and imprisoned in a place called Piefferberg. Policed by the Phaendir; the Fae have been secretly working with humans sympathetic to their cause to find five hidden Fae relics that combined together will free them.
Charlotte Bennett has been raised to hate the Fae; taught from birth that they had killed her mother. When Charlotte has an erotic dream filled with unbelievable passion she never dreams that it is actually a spell to bind her to Kieran Aindreas Cairbre Aimhrea.
Kieran is of the Unseelie court. A cursed Fae, he has bond Charlotte to him in order to unlock her memories. For she alone holds the key to the other piece of the bosca fadbh. As Charlotte enters the Unseelie court her life becomes a unstoppable whirlwind as she battles both court and Kieran for her freedom.
Dark Enchantment is the third installment in Anya Bast’s dark and sensual world of the fae. Well-plotted and cast with characters that are strong and personable, Dark Enchantment is filled with taunt suspense, delicious betrayal, and dangerous antagonists. A fascinating read that captured me from page one. Strong characters drive this story opposed to the last two installments which spent more time laying the foundation of the arc and it’s key players. Now we are in the present and it has enhanced the storyline for me.
Ms. Bast takes Fae mythology and mixes it new lore to produce a stunning urban fantasy world that first starts in Wicked Enchantment and continues it’s dark and dangerous journey in Dark Enchantment. Instead of being overburdened by overwrought interpretation and world building at the sacrifice of story, or being heavy on story but leaving the world largely undefined, Dark Enchantment continues the arc’s perfect balance and hits all the right notes. The world building is a perfect blending of seductive romance, non stop action, realistic main characters, secondary characters, and intriguing betrayal. Well thought out and fast paced, it creates a satisfying arc of development for the main characters and culminates in two very different sort of conflicts - one that threatens the lives of Kieran and Charlotte and one that threatens their hearts.
I loved Charlotte from the first page. She doesn’t take kindly to having her free will stripped from her and she fights Kieran every step of the way in the beginning. Both of them intelligent, strong willed, and very independent. Watching the two of them pit their will against each other is very funny at times. One humorous moment is when Charlotte realizes that the bond actually dissipates the closer they are to each other. When she tries to escape, Kieran sarcastically tells Niall not to worry, that she can’t get far.
“What were you saying about how she wouldn’t get very far?”
“Goibhniu, looks like she’s gotten herself cab.”
“Kieran, I hate to point the obvious, but she’s getting away.”
Even though she is understandably furious with Kieran for his duplicity; the issue is negated in a realistic manner and the focus slides elegantly to the issue at hand-finding the relic.
Kieran is a fascinating mixture anger and remorse as he deals with Charlotte. Angry and unsocial through the last two installments; in this one we dig deep into his background and emotional make up to see why he is the way he is. He must use Charlotte and keep her at arms length yet he goes out of his way to show her the beauty of the Fae and make her stay comfortable. As Charlotte’s memories are unlocked, she learns more about her family and the night her mother died, leaving her with more unanswered questions.
The chemistry between Charlotte and Kieran is apparent from the beginning, but it flairs hot and sweet as they spend more time getting to truly know each other. I found myself completely engrossed in their very romantic affair. There are some steamy smexy scenes that made me think I need to find me a Fae for my own.
All in all Dark Enchantment is a satisfying read in every way. A unbelievable ride that I could not and did not want to end. I cannot WAIT for #4 of the Dark Magic series, Midnight Enchantment, which is due out in January 2012. We finally get Niall’s story. I will definitely continue to read and recommend this series to everyone. One small note-I do not recommend reading this as a stand alone. Even though each one has a resolvable main conflict, the arc and characters bleed over into each book and you miss much by not starting at the beginning.
Rating: A
December 17, 2011
3.5 stars
Dark Enchantment by Anya Bast starts off with Charlotte Bennett being manipulated through her dreams and compulsion by Kieran to cajole her into making a journey to Piefferburg, a Fae stronghold created to keep the Fae separated from the human population. The manipulation of Charlotte is integral in aiding the Fae in obtaining the third and final piece of the bosca fadbh because she possess memories that hold the clues on how to procure the third charm. Once all three pieces have been acquired, the Fae will be able to obtain a spell from the Book of Bindings to bring down the magical wall that separates the Fae from the human world. Along the way there are many obstacles that must be overcome to achieve the Fae's end goal.
Anya Bast has a gift for weaving passion and action into her stories that always fulfill the romance lover's need for a "fix" with her original style of entertainment. Her novels never fail to entertain me and deliver a wonderful HEA. In addition, the author's story-telling ability can always be counted on to assimilate her reader into her ingenious world building and plots.
Happy Reading from Bona Fide Reflections!!
Dark Enchantment by Anya Bast starts off with Charlotte Bennett being manipulated through her dreams and compulsion by Kieran to cajole her into making a journey to Piefferburg, a Fae stronghold created to keep the Fae separated from the human population. The manipulation of Charlotte is integral in aiding the Fae in obtaining the third and final piece of the bosca fadbh because she possess memories that hold the clues on how to procure the third charm. Once all three pieces have been acquired, the Fae will be able to obtain a spell from the Book of Bindings to bring down the magical wall that separates the Fae from the human world. Along the way there are many obstacles that must be overcome to achieve the Fae's end goal.
Anya Bast has a gift for weaving passion and action into her stories that always fulfill the romance lover's need for a "fix" with her original style of entertainment. Her novels never fail to entertain me and deliver a wonderful HEA. In addition, the author's story-telling ability can always be counted on to assimilate her reader into her ingenious world building and plots.
Happy Reading from Bona Fide Reflections!!
March 5, 2016
Originally wasn't sure about this one because of the compulsion Charlotte was under. I needn't have worried. I thought Charlotte a strong, capable character and a good match for Kieran. I like that while each book is about different couples getting their HEAs, there is also an underlying story line that ties all the books together (in this case ultimately freeing the fae trapped in Piefferburg). And boy, with that story line, things are heating up. There is a bit of a cliff hanger ending, book 4 had better wrap everything up.
April 5, 2011
The Dark Magick series is a series that gets better with each book. Dark Enchantment is the 3rd book of the series and it is the best book of the series thus far.
Charlotte Bennett is a human whose father hates the Fae. Some of his prejudices have rubbed off on her but not completely. She has preconceived notions of the ugly, non-human looking fae. Charlotte suffers from nightmares that she has had since a child. Because of these nightmares and the hatred spewed by her Father, she doesn’t have a high opinion of the Fae. When a strange, sexy man starts visiting Charlotte in her dreams, she is compelled to follow his orders which lead her to the city of Piefferberg.
Kiernan is a Dream Wraith. He forges a bond with Charlotte through her dreams and uses his gift to compel her to do his bidding and travel to Piefferberg. The Unseelie need the 3rd piece of the bosca fadbh and they think that Charlotte can help them find it. Charlotte doesn’t want to have anything to do with helping the Unseelie Court bring down the walls of Piefferberg. She doesn’t appreciate being taken against her will and forced to plot against the Phaendir. Some of her prejudices against the Fae surface while she’s around the Unseelie and Kiernan is determined to make her see that all Fae are not evil creatures that harm and eat humans.
Dark Enchantment grabbed me from page one and did not let me go. I immediately liked Charlotte’s character. She didn’t take kindly to having her free will taken from her. Her reaction when she came face to face with Kiernan was hilarious. Any woman brave enough to punch an Unseelie in the face has balls. She may think of the Unseelie as the supernatural equivalent of the Boogey Man but she doesn’t back down when she is forced to deceive the Phaendir and help the Unseelie Court locate the last piece bosca fadbh. Throughout the book, we see Charlotte’s prejudices about the Fae slowly go away. Her eyes are opened to the fact that the Fae are no different from humans. Each species have its bad side and good side.
I love the gradual build-up of Kiernan and Charlotte’s romance. It is obvious that the attraction is mutual thanks to the steamy hot sex dreams Charlotte had thanks to Kiernan. They both have prejudices of the other that they have to get over before they can truly work together and trust each other. Oh, and Kiernan has a nasty little curse where if he falls in love with someone and that person returns his love, they will both die. Kiernan thinks that he is safe from falling in love with Charlotte; she’s a human after all. And once she finds the missing piece of the bosca fadbh, she’s going to be high-tailing it out of Piefferberg and back to her life in Portland. The attempt at having a sex only relationship fails; let’s just say the heart wants what the heart wants.
The side characters from the first two books continue to play an integral role in this series. Niall is awesome and I am so excited that his book is next. We see Aislinn in full Unseelie Queen role with Gabriel at her side as the Unseelie King. Aerick and Emmaline are happily married. And Brother Gideon is still creepy as ever. We get a brief look into his past and discover why he is such a sicko.
I absolutely LOVED Dark Enchantment. From start to finish, I was engrossed in the story. I hated that the book had to end. This book can be read as a stand alone but I suggest you read the first two books of the series, Wicked Enchantment and Cruel Enchantment. Although each character has their own story and Anya Bast does an excellent job recapping what happened in the previous books, I think to get the whole picture, read books 1 and 2 first.
Charlotte Bennett is a human whose father hates the Fae. Some of his prejudices have rubbed off on her but not completely. She has preconceived notions of the ugly, non-human looking fae. Charlotte suffers from nightmares that she has had since a child. Because of these nightmares and the hatred spewed by her Father, she doesn’t have a high opinion of the Fae. When a strange, sexy man starts visiting Charlotte in her dreams, she is compelled to follow his orders which lead her to the city of Piefferberg.
Kiernan is a Dream Wraith. He forges a bond with Charlotte through her dreams and uses his gift to compel her to do his bidding and travel to Piefferberg. The Unseelie need the 3rd piece of the bosca fadbh and they think that Charlotte can help them find it. Charlotte doesn’t want to have anything to do with helping the Unseelie Court bring down the walls of Piefferberg. She doesn’t appreciate being taken against her will and forced to plot against the Phaendir. Some of her prejudices against the Fae surface while she’s around the Unseelie and Kiernan is determined to make her see that all Fae are not evil creatures that harm and eat humans.
Dark Enchantment grabbed me from page one and did not let me go. I immediately liked Charlotte’s character. She didn’t take kindly to having her free will taken from her. Her reaction when she came face to face with Kiernan was hilarious. Any woman brave enough to punch an Unseelie in the face has balls. She may think of the Unseelie as the supernatural equivalent of the Boogey Man but she doesn’t back down when she is forced to deceive the Phaendir and help the Unseelie Court locate the last piece bosca fadbh. Throughout the book, we see Charlotte’s prejudices about the Fae slowly go away. Her eyes are opened to the fact that the Fae are no different from humans. Each species have its bad side and good side.
I love the gradual build-up of Kiernan and Charlotte’s romance. It is obvious that the attraction is mutual thanks to the steamy hot sex dreams Charlotte had thanks to Kiernan. They both have prejudices of the other that they have to get over before they can truly work together and trust each other. Oh, and Kiernan has a nasty little curse where if he falls in love with someone and that person returns his love, they will both die. Kiernan thinks that he is safe from falling in love with Charlotte; she’s a human after all. And once she finds the missing piece of the bosca fadbh, she’s going to be high-tailing it out of Piefferberg and back to her life in Portland. The attempt at having a sex only relationship fails; let’s just say the heart wants what the heart wants.
The side characters from the first two books continue to play an integral role in this series. Niall is awesome and I am so excited that his book is next. We see Aislinn in full Unseelie Queen role with Gabriel at her side as the Unseelie King. Aerick and Emmaline are happily married. And Brother Gideon is still creepy as ever. We get a brief look into his past and discover why he is such a sicko.
I absolutely LOVED Dark Enchantment. From start to finish, I was engrossed in the story. I hated that the book had to end. This book can be read as a stand alone but I suggest you read the first two books of the series, Wicked Enchantment and Cruel Enchantment. Although each character has their own story and Anya Bast does an excellent job recapping what happened in the previous books, I think to get the whole picture, read books 1 and 2 first.
July 29, 2011
Charlotte is drawn by compulsion to Piefferberg, the containment area that the Fae live in. That happens when Unseelie Fae, Kieran, uses his magic to try to save his people.
You see back thousands of years ago Charlotte’s ancestor had a hand in hiding a piece of the key that will open the book of bindings – the one book that has the spell that can break the warding around Piefferberg where the Fae have been imprisoned since the 1500’s. The Unseelie court wants to use Charlotte’s memories to get to those of her ancestors so that they can find out where the third and final piece of the key is.
There are, however, people who don’t want Charlotte’s brain “harvested” for memories and are trying to kill her. Though Charlotte is pissed off at Kieran for being dragged into the whole situation – because she loathes and fears the Fae – she has to depend on him for her safety and protection.
While protecting Charlotte Kieran discovers that she’s not at all as he first thought. Though she first dressed as a dowdy woman there was an incredible body under all of those dark colors. Kieran also discovers that Charlotte has an incredibly strong spirit and is more open-minded than he believed. But Kieran can’t fall in love with Charlotte because he is cursed. He is cursed to never know love and if he does fall in love then he will die. If he is loved in return then that woman will die also. Sometimes, though, life happens despite the curses and then the consequences have to be faced.
This is the third book in the Dark Magick series and it was a good one. I’ve really liked the world that Bast has drawn in this series with the Fae, the Phaendir (druids who hate the Fae) and the humans. She always shows us all three worlds and I love how they all come together to make a great story.
Of course I knew from the get go that Kieran and Charlotte were going to fall in love because, ya know, he was cursed to not know it and this was a romance so it was logical that it would happen anyway. Lol The part I couldn’t figure out was the curse. How they were going to break it, IF they were going to break it and how exactly they were going to deal with not only falling in love with each other but knowing that because of their love they were now going to die. It was well done and I really enjoyed the whole situation. Parts were very happy and light and others very sad and emotional and I loved having that in story. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series.
Rating: 4 out of 5
This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Tracy.
You see back thousands of years ago Charlotte’s ancestor had a hand in hiding a piece of the key that will open the book of bindings – the one book that has the spell that can break the warding around Piefferberg where the Fae have been imprisoned since the 1500’s. The Unseelie court wants to use Charlotte’s memories to get to those of her ancestors so that they can find out where the third and final piece of the key is.
There are, however, people who don’t want Charlotte’s brain “harvested” for memories and are trying to kill her. Though Charlotte is pissed off at Kieran for being dragged into the whole situation – because she loathes and fears the Fae – she has to depend on him for her safety and protection.
While protecting Charlotte Kieran discovers that she’s not at all as he first thought. Though she first dressed as a dowdy woman there was an incredible body under all of those dark colors. Kieran also discovers that Charlotte has an incredibly strong spirit and is more open-minded than he believed. But Kieran can’t fall in love with Charlotte because he is cursed. He is cursed to never know love and if he does fall in love then he will die. If he is loved in return then that woman will die also. Sometimes, though, life happens despite the curses and then the consequences have to be faced.
This is the third book in the Dark Magick series and it was a good one. I’ve really liked the world that Bast has drawn in this series with the Fae, the Phaendir (druids who hate the Fae) and the humans. She always shows us all three worlds and I love how they all come together to make a great story.
Of course I knew from the get go that Kieran and Charlotte were going to fall in love because, ya know, he was cursed to not know it and this was a romance so it was logical that it would happen anyway. Lol The part I couldn’t figure out was the curse. How they were going to break it, IF they were going to break it and how exactly they were going to deal with not only falling in love with each other but knowing that because of their love they were now going to die. It was well done and I really enjoyed the whole situation. Parts were very happy and light and others very sad and emotional and I loved having that in story. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series.
Rating: 4 out of 5
This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Tracy.
July 22, 2011
Dark Enchantment
4.5 Stars
Synopsis:
The fae are searching for the third and final piece of the bosca fadbh, which once opened can release them from imprisonment. However, only one person knows the location of the elusive piece, a human named Charlotte Bennett, but this information is hidden deep within her bloodline and can only be accessed by the dark magick wielded by Kiernan Aimhrea and the other Unseelie fae.
Review:
This is the most romantic of the three books so far but the least action packed. The plot continues where the last book left off, however, this time, the heroine is not a member of the fae, in fact, she associates them with the most traumatic event of her life and the manner in which she overcomes her ingrained fear makes for a captivating read.
Charlotte and Kieran are an endearing couple who fall slowly and deeply in love, although their relationship lacks the intense chemistry and emotion that characterized Emmaline and Aeric in Cruel Enchantment. Similar to this couple, the course of Charlotte and Kiernan’s love does not run smoothly for it is tested, not only by Charlotte’s fear of the fae, but by a curse that Kiernan suffers through no fault of his own. The curse is an interesting plot device that adds tension to the romance, and Bast is such an adept storyteller that it never feels contrived. I really enjoyed the way in which this obstacle is resolved.
The characters are another positive element in the book. Charlotte is a compelling heroine and her interactions with the various members of fae society are exceedingly entertaining, especially her initial meeting with Kiernan – it certainly packs a wallop and that’s all I’m going to say about it. Kiernan is gorgeous and sexy but is also quite tortured (another favorite theme of mine). In addition, I also appreciated the extra information provided concerning the villain in the series. Even though he has always been obnoxious and threatening, now readers receive insight into the underlying causes of his hatred for the fae, and I must say that while his motivation is not exactly original, it is consistent with his personality and adds another dimension to his psychological makeup.
Dark Enchantment is a wonderful read and now that the war between the Phaendir and the fae is coming to a head, I am seriously looking forward to finding out what happens.
4.5 Stars
Synopsis:
The fae are searching for the third and final piece of the bosca fadbh, which once opened can release them from imprisonment. However, only one person knows the location of the elusive piece, a human named Charlotte Bennett, but this information is hidden deep within her bloodline and can only be accessed by the dark magick wielded by Kiernan Aimhrea and the other Unseelie fae.
Review:
This is the most romantic of the three books so far but the least action packed. The plot continues where the last book left off, however, this time, the heroine is not a member of the fae, in fact, she associates them with the most traumatic event of her life and the manner in which she overcomes her ingrained fear makes for a captivating read.
Charlotte and Kieran are an endearing couple who fall slowly and deeply in love, although their relationship lacks the intense chemistry and emotion that characterized Emmaline and Aeric in Cruel Enchantment. Similar to this couple, the course of Charlotte and Kiernan’s love does not run smoothly for it is tested, not only by Charlotte’s fear of the fae, but by a curse that Kiernan suffers through no fault of his own. The curse is an interesting plot device that adds tension to the romance, and Bast is such an adept storyteller that it never feels contrived. I really enjoyed the way in which this obstacle is resolved.
The characters are another positive element in the book. Charlotte is a compelling heroine and her interactions with the various members of fae society are exceedingly entertaining, especially her initial meeting with Kiernan – it certainly packs a wallop and that’s all I’m going to say about it. Kiernan is gorgeous and sexy but is also quite tortured (another favorite theme of mine). In addition, I also appreciated the extra information provided concerning the villain in the series. Even though he has always been obnoxious and threatening, now readers receive insight into the underlying causes of his hatred for the fae, and I must say that while his motivation is not exactly original, it is consistent with his personality and adds another dimension to his psychological makeup.
Dark Enchantment is a wonderful read and now that the war between the Phaendir and the fae is coming to a head, I am seriously looking forward to finding out what happens.
April 2, 2012
Once again, I'm sucked into this world. I have to give Ms. Bast props for writing a story that captures my attention and I want to know where we are going. Piefferburg is becoming more clear to me as we receive each new book. It's nice to learn a bit more about the world each time. What I also enjoy in a series, is showcasing a previous secondary character as the new main character and developing this new character into some I care about.
In Dark Enchantment, I felt sorry for Kieran. His life has not been easy. To have a twin and experience all the dark sides of the twin is torture. Then to pain for your twin's crime through the sacrifice of your own life and that of your soul mate, I call foul. This isn't fair, but no one said life was to be fair. I'm glad Ms. Bast designed her story this way. This conflict enhances my enjoyment. I did like Charlotte and her past. While it was a surprise for her, it was no surprise for me. How else would it make sense? Her response to the betrayal is what made it good for me. Charlotte didn't rail and scream "I have Daddy issues". It helped heal her in someways and let her move on. I did feel badly for her not to be able to resolve this with her father and once again, her response to this set back is admirable.
I am also quite pleased with the reveal regarding the free fae. This was a twist that didn't occur for me and I liked it. The involvement of the three sisters was a bit depressing though. Once the connection was made, it made sense and brought on a whole new set of angst. Having two sisters myself, it makes a bigger impact on me than others who don't have sisters. I guess what I've learned in this latest book is, when the fae aren't kept in check by the Wild Hunt, they are monsters. I recommend this book to paranormal lovers who enjoy smexy relationship as well as a decent plot. This book was more plot than sex this time.
In Dark Enchantment, I felt sorry for Kieran. His life has not been easy. To have a twin and experience all the dark sides of the twin is torture. Then to pain for your twin's crime through the sacrifice of your own life and that of your soul mate, I call foul. This isn't fair, but no one said life was to be fair. I'm glad Ms. Bast designed her story this way. This conflict enhances my enjoyment. I did like Charlotte and her past. While it was a surprise for her, it was no surprise for me. How else would it make sense? Her response to the betrayal is what made it good for me. Charlotte didn't rail and scream "I have Daddy issues". It helped heal her in someways and let her move on. I did feel badly for her not to be able to resolve this with her father and once again, her response to this set back is admirable.
I am also quite pleased with the reveal regarding the free fae. This was a twist that didn't occur for me and I liked it. The involvement of the three sisters was a bit depressing though. Once the connection was made, it made sense and brought on a whole new set of angst. Having two sisters myself, it makes a bigger impact on me than others who don't have sisters. I guess what I've learned in this latest book is, when the fae aren't kept in check by the Wild Hunt, they are monsters. I recommend this book to paranormal lovers who enjoy smexy relationship as well as a decent plot. This book was more plot than sex this time.
April 6, 2011
This series gets better and better with every book. I can't believe we have to wait until next January for the next installment to come out. THAT BLOWS.
June 3, 2018
Kieran invades Charlotte's dreams to force her to come to him. Her blood has the memories of where the final piece of the bosca fadbh. She was raised to fear and hate the fae and the last thing she wants to do is head to Piefferburg. While this is going on there are Fae on the outside doing everything they can including working with the Phaedir to stop them. Kieran is cursed should he ever fall in love to die and be taken by the Slaugh. Okay read but I'm ready for this storyline to finish.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2017
Really enjoyed this book.
August 4, 2016
Dark Enchantment is book #3 of the Dark Magick series, I love this series. The universe is awesome, the fae and the magick, all is perfect, really.
Kieran is an Unseelie (a dark fae), a long time ago, he was cursed because of his twin’s actions (his brother was a psychopath). His curse prevents him to fall in love. If he was to love someone, and that someone was to love him back, they would both die. Charlotte is perfectly human, she lives in the human world and doesn’t want anything to do with the fae. But Kieran has other projects for her.
If you haven’t read this series, it’s a bit complicated to explain because the all story is based on the other two books. But basically: the entire fae race is imprisoned in some sort of dome, if you can say that. A long time ago they were living among the humans, in peace, but some people did not like them: the Phaendir (a community of druids). So, there was a big war and with that war came a disease who killed lots of fae and since they were very weak, the Phaendir were able to imprisoned them with magick in a sort of dome. But the fae are not kept imprisoned because of the huge walls around Piefferburg (that’s the name of their town) but because of the Phaendir’s magick. Obviously, they want to destroy those walls and the magick, they want to be free and not kept in Piefferburg. To do so, they need the three pieces of the bosca fadbh, a puzzle who, basically, is the key to the Book of Bindings, this book contains the spell that can break the warding around Piefferburg.
In book #3, they already have the Book and two of the pieces and that’s why Charlotte comes into play. Like I said, Kieran uses his magick (he’s able to enter people’s dreams, he can change them etc, he can also bound someone to him [just once] and that person is obligated to do what he wants for some time) on Charlotte because she’s the only one who knows where the last piece is, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
At the beginning I really wanted to throttle Kieran and the other characters from book #1 and #2, even if I love them. Poor Charlotte, she’s scared, she’s all alone and she’s being held against her will and these bastards are so rude to her. I mean, they’re doing this for their people and they’re not hurting Charlotte but still, they could be a bit less intense. Fortunately, after some time, my need to throttle them stopped.
Kieran became less hostile toward her and Charlotte started to understand the reasons of her kidnapping. Kieran is such a sweet guy, don’t get me wrong, he’s huge and very alpha-male but he has that softness about him that made me swoon. He cares a lot about his people and his friends, he’s also very loyal. He’s so very gentle with Charlotte, he cares for her but he knows that it can never go beyond that because of his curse.
Charlotte is tough, well she’s super scared at the beginning, it’s quite funny actually, but she doesn’t back down. At first and for good reasons (at least she thinks so), she has lots of prejudices on the fae, she doesn’t like them but she’s willing to learn more about them and she starts to see that they’re not that bad.
Together, they were so cute. They both know they can’t have anything more than sex but you can’t really control your feelings. It’s not insta-love but they’re attracted to each other, even if they don’t want to. Lots of things happens, and then bam. They ultimately fall in love. I cried. A lot. I really really thought for about 10 minutes that Anya wasn’t going to give us a HEA. I suffered. I think I fell in love with Kieran even more at this moment, I won’t say why or when exactly because that would spoil you big time but Kieran’s love for Charlotte was beautiful. Their love was profound and perfect. Charlotte broke my heart, I cried with her and my heart broke with her. Anya succeeded in writing a great book with a surprising and great ending!
Let’s not forget Brother Gideon, the Phaendir psycho. Oh my god, this druid is batshit crazy, I’m afraid of him since book #1 and he does not disappoint lol. I’d like to say something for sweet Calum, I liked him and I was so sad to let him go… I can’t wait to read Niall’s book now, his such a great character and I’m so excited!
Kieran is an Unseelie (a dark fae), a long time ago, he was cursed because of his twin’s actions (his brother was a psychopath). His curse prevents him to fall in love. If he was to love someone, and that someone was to love him back, they would both die. Charlotte is perfectly human, she lives in the human world and doesn’t want anything to do with the fae. But Kieran has other projects for her.
If you haven’t read this series, it’s a bit complicated to explain because the all story is based on the other two books. But basically: the entire fae race is imprisoned in some sort of dome, if you can say that. A long time ago they were living among the humans, in peace, but some people did not like them: the Phaendir (a community of druids). So, there was a big war and with that war came a disease who killed lots of fae and since they were very weak, the Phaendir were able to imprisoned them with magick in a sort of dome. But the fae are not kept imprisoned because of the huge walls around Piefferburg (that’s the name of their town) but because of the Phaendir’s magick. Obviously, they want to destroy those walls and the magick, they want to be free and not kept in Piefferburg. To do so, they need the three pieces of the bosca fadbh, a puzzle who, basically, is the key to the Book of Bindings, this book contains the spell that can break the warding around Piefferburg.
In book #3, they already have the Book and two of the pieces and that’s why Charlotte comes into play. Like I said, Kieran uses his magick (he’s able to enter people’s dreams, he can change them etc, he can also bound someone to him [just once] and that person is obligated to do what he wants for some time) on Charlotte because she’s the only one who knows where the last piece is, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
At the beginning I really wanted to throttle Kieran and the other characters from book #1 and #2, even if I love them. Poor Charlotte, she’s scared, she’s all alone and she’s being held against her will and these bastards are so rude to her. I mean, they’re doing this for their people and they’re not hurting Charlotte but still, they could be a bit less intense. Fortunately, after some time, my need to throttle them stopped.
Kieran became less hostile toward her and Charlotte started to understand the reasons of her kidnapping. Kieran is such a sweet guy, don’t get me wrong, he’s huge and very alpha-male but he has that softness about him that made me swoon. He cares a lot about his people and his friends, he’s also very loyal. He’s so very gentle with Charlotte, he cares for her but he knows that it can never go beyond that because of his curse.
Charlotte is tough, well she’s super scared at the beginning, it’s quite funny actually, but she doesn’t back down. At first and for good reasons (at least she thinks so), she has lots of prejudices on the fae, she doesn’t like them but she’s willing to learn more about them and she starts to see that they’re not that bad.
Together, they were so cute. They both know they can’t have anything more than sex but you can’t really control your feelings. It’s not insta-love but they’re attracted to each other, even if they don’t want to. Lots of things happens, and then bam. They ultimately fall in love. I cried. A lot. I really really thought for about 10 minutes that Anya wasn’t going to give us a HEA. I suffered. I think I fell in love with Kieran even more at this moment, I won’t say why or when exactly because that would spoil you big time but Kieran’s love for Charlotte was beautiful. Their love was profound and perfect. Charlotte broke my heart, I cried with her and my heart broke with her. Anya succeeded in writing a great book with a surprising and great ending!
Let’s not forget Brother Gideon, the Phaendir psycho. Oh my god, this druid is batshit crazy, I’m afraid of him since book #1 and he does not disappoint lol. I’d like to say something for sweet Calum, I liked him and I was so sad to let him go… I can’t wait to read Niall’s book now, his such a great character and I’m so excited!
December 27, 2023
I was somewhat disappointed in this one. It was a bit of an improvement over book 2 in this series (see my review of book 2 for more details), but I was rather disappointed in that there did not appear to me to be any real effort on the part of the author to really flesh out the details of this universe beyond what had been established in book 1 (see my review of book 1).
As for the first book in this series, I felt as though this novel had dual personalities, in that it was as if there was a 3-star level urban fantasy story/novel merged with a one-star romance.
Good points: I did like the two main characters, Kieran and Charlotte, who all in all were not bad people. They also had at least one point in common, in that they had difficult pasts. The story did detail or flesh out some elements which had felt as though they had been almost randomly inserted into the previous book, namely the aspects relating to the 'evil fae' who did not want the imprisoned fae to be freed. The plot did move along at a good pace and I was interested in finding out whether or not the fae imprisoned in Piefferburg would manage to obtain the final piece of the magical device needed to free them.
Bad points/constructive criticism:
(i) While I did like the two main characters, in general I had no idea of why they wound up together. This seems to be a persistent theme with regards to this series (although to be fair, this is a problem with about 98% or so of novels within the romance genre). These two characters were never shown to have a great deal in common. Also, other than much lusting and their working together to obtain the final piece of the aforementioned magical device to free the fae, we were never shown collaboration on these characters' part, or really *anything* that would lead to it being *believable* that they would fall in LOVE (i.e. as opposed to lust) with each other.
(ii) The sex scenes, again, were incredibly boring and repetitive and reminded me A LOT of the sex scenes in the previous two novels. *snore*
(iii) I was truly disappointed that, while the adventure moved along at a good pace and the underlying arc of the series moved forward in this novel, there was never any real attempt to flesh out the universe beyond what was established in the first novel as well as the minimal elements that were required for the plot of this book. This left me with several questions, namely:
-Why are all the magical creatures in the world of Celtic origin? Given the richness of mythology, legends, and folk tales from the myriad other cultures of this world, I find this detail a bit sloppy as regards the worldbuilding.
-What happened to cause the rift between the fae and the Phaendir?
-Did the Phaendir cause Watt syndrome?
-What is the bosca fadbh? How is it linked to the fae's imprisonment? And how is it that the Phaendir did not have it in their possession since they are the ones responsible for the fae's imprisonment?
-Do the Phaendir always reproduce with human women, given that they seem to be exclusively male? This wasn't clear.
-What are the origins of the fae and the Phaendir? How closely are they related to humans?
I could come up with more questions, but I think these illustrate what I am trying to say. In other words, this world would feel a lot richer and the books would feel less formulaic if there was more of an effort at building a world/universe (as well as building a believable romance between the characters).
So all in all, this was an acceptable but not outstanding 3 star urban fantasy adventure merged with a 1 star romance. (Average of 2 stars)
As for the first book in this series, I felt as though this novel had dual personalities, in that it was as if there was a 3-star level urban fantasy story/novel merged with a one-star romance.
Good points: I did like the two main characters, Kieran and Charlotte, who all in all were not bad people. They also had at least one point in common, in that they had difficult pasts. The story did detail or flesh out some elements which had felt as though they had been almost randomly inserted into the previous book, namely the aspects relating to the 'evil fae' who did not want the imprisoned fae to be freed. The plot did move along at a good pace and I was interested in finding out whether or not the fae imprisoned in Piefferburg would manage to obtain the final piece of the magical device needed to free them.
Bad points/constructive criticism:
(i) While I did like the two main characters, in general I had no idea of why they wound up together. This seems to be a persistent theme with regards to this series (although to be fair, this is a problem with about 98% or so of novels within the romance genre). These two characters were never shown to have a great deal in common. Also, other than much lusting and their working together to obtain the final piece of the aforementioned magical device to free the fae, we were never shown collaboration on these characters' part, or really *anything* that would lead to it being *believable* that they would fall in LOVE (i.e. as opposed to lust) with each other.
(ii) The sex scenes, again, were incredibly boring and repetitive and reminded me A LOT of the sex scenes in the previous two novels. *snore*
(iii) I was truly disappointed that, while the adventure moved along at a good pace and the underlying arc of the series moved forward in this novel, there was never any real attempt to flesh out the universe beyond what was established in the first novel as well as the minimal elements that were required for the plot of this book. This left me with several questions, namely:
-Why are all the magical creatures in the world of Celtic origin? Given the richness of mythology, legends, and folk tales from the myriad other cultures of this world, I find this detail a bit sloppy as regards the worldbuilding.
-What happened to cause the rift between the fae and the Phaendir?
-Did the Phaendir cause Watt syndrome?
-What is the bosca fadbh? How is it linked to the fae's imprisonment? And how is it that the Phaendir did not have it in their possession since they are the ones responsible for the fae's imprisonment?
-Do the Phaendir always reproduce with human women, given that they seem to be exclusively male? This wasn't clear.
-What are the origins of the fae and the Phaendir? How closely are they related to humans?
I could come up with more questions, but I think these illustrate what I am trying to say. In other words, this world would feel a lot richer and the books would feel less formulaic if there was more of an effort at building a world/universe (as well as building a believable romance between the characters).
So all in all, this was an acceptable but not outstanding 3 star urban fantasy adventure merged with a 1 star romance. (Average of 2 stars)
March 6, 2017
Still an enjoyable read but story too formulaic with other books in series. Predictable what would happen and I didn't get connected to characters as much. Will still read series, but rating went down for me.
December 28, 2012
Since Kieran, an Unseelie fae cannot leave Piefferburg, a containment area forced on the fae population by humans, he must do what is necessary to bring the human woman to him.
What a wonderfully fertile imagination Banks has.
Gripping, interesting, riveting reading.
Ms Banks should you ever read this I'm so glad the word 'pet' was replaced with 'stroked.' I won't elaborate I'm sure you get precisely what I mean.
April 5, 2011
Dark Enchantment by Anya Bast
Paranormal Romance -April 5th, 2011
4 ½ stars
I was really excited to finally read Anya Bast's third installment in her Dark Magick series. This series has bit of the edgy feel of an urban fantasy but is definitely a romance at heart. In this series powerful magic users including the deadly fae have been locked up the city of Piefferburg by the fearful human government. But that may all be about to change...
Charlotte Bennett is a human who has been having disturbing and erotic dreams about a man too beautiful for words. But what she doesn't know is that this man is real. He is a dangerous fae named Kieran that has used his magic to form a connection to Charlotte in order to compel her visit the treacherous city of Piefferburg. For Charlotte is unknowingly the key to finding the last magical artifact that is the essential to finally freeing the inhabitants of Piefferburg. This is because an ancestor of Charlotte's holds the clues to finding the artifact and the fae feel by delving into Charlotte's past and her ancestor's memories they can find where the last artifact is buried. But it also opens memories of death of Charlotte's mother.
But Charlotte comes from a background prejudiced against the fae. She has dark nightmares of the fae and her father is a leader in coalition against them. If she wasn't compelled to obey Keiran she would prefer the fae stay locked up.
But as Charlotte enters the city of Piefferburg her compulsion wanes and Charlotte soon surprises Kieran with her independence and sass. Although she fears him she refuses to be intimidated. For Keiran is an Unseelie. They are known for their dark and deadly powers. Keiran is quickly intrigued by Charlotte and the erotic dreams they share haunt him. Even though he has disdained humans before. And Charlotte can't help thinking of him. The compulsion Keiran used to bring Charlotte to Piefferburg has backfired on them both. For it is usually used to find a mate and it seems to be affecting them both! But any love between them would be foolish. Especially because Kieran is under a deep curse. If he ever falls in love he and his love will dies a horrible and painful death.
This book was a spell-binding read because it has a curse which makes any love between the main characters tragic and tension-filled. I loved the angst between them as both do not want to care for each other but find they cannot help themselves. I also liked how the author showed Kieran's `softer' side as tries to show her that not all the inhabitants of Piefferburg are evil. Charlotte is a very strong and feisty character, even though she is supposed to be a `weak' human. I liked Charlotte's courage, and cheered her on when she first meets Kieran and punches him in the face for using magic her!
Lovers of dark fantasy will enjoy this book but because characters from previous book return and the world is rather complex it would probably be best to have read at least one of the prior books before starting this one.
And edgy world, a curse love and fantastic main characters make this a thrilling book.
Paranormal Romance -April 5th, 2011
4 ½ stars
I was really excited to finally read Anya Bast's third installment in her Dark Magick series. This series has bit of the edgy feel of an urban fantasy but is definitely a romance at heart. In this series powerful magic users including the deadly fae have been locked up the city of Piefferburg by the fearful human government. But that may all be about to change...
Charlotte Bennett is a human who has been having disturbing and erotic dreams about a man too beautiful for words. But what she doesn't know is that this man is real. He is a dangerous fae named Kieran that has used his magic to form a connection to Charlotte in order to compel her visit the treacherous city of Piefferburg. For Charlotte is unknowingly the key to finding the last magical artifact that is the essential to finally freeing the inhabitants of Piefferburg. This is because an ancestor of Charlotte's holds the clues to finding the artifact and the fae feel by delving into Charlotte's past and her ancestor's memories they can find where the last artifact is buried. But it also opens memories of death of Charlotte's mother.
But Charlotte comes from a background prejudiced against the fae. She has dark nightmares of the fae and her father is a leader in coalition against them. If she wasn't compelled to obey Keiran she would prefer the fae stay locked up.
But as Charlotte enters the city of Piefferburg her compulsion wanes and Charlotte soon surprises Kieran with her independence and sass. Although she fears him she refuses to be intimidated. For Keiran is an Unseelie. They are known for their dark and deadly powers. Keiran is quickly intrigued by Charlotte and the erotic dreams they share haunt him. Even though he has disdained humans before. And Charlotte can't help thinking of him. The compulsion Keiran used to bring Charlotte to Piefferburg has backfired on them both. For it is usually used to find a mate and it seems to be affecting them both! But any love between them would be foolish. Especially because Kieran is under a deep curse. If he ever falls in love he and his love will dies a horrible and painful death.
This book was a spell-binding read because it has a curse which makes any love between the main characters tragic and tension-filled. I loved the angst between them as both do not want to care for each other but find they cannot help themselves. I also liked how the author showed Kieran's `softer' side as tries to show her that not all the inhabitants of Piefferburg are evil. Charlotte is a very strong and feisty character, even though she is supposed to be a `weak' human. I liked Charlotte's courage, and cheered her on when she first meets Kieran and punches him in the face for using magic her!
Lovers of dark fantasy will enjoy this book but because characters from previous book return and the world is rather complex it would probably be best to have read at least one of the prior books before starting this one.
And edgy world, a curse love and fantastic main characters make this a thrilling book.
April 27, 2011
I have made it no secret that I think Anya Bast's Dark Magic series is one of the best new series out there. With Shadowfever came the end (for now) of KM Moning's Fae and Anay Bast has filled that gap in my opinion. These books are interesting and a new take on the Fae genre where the Fae are known to the human world, not only do they face their own prejudices, Seelie vs Unseelie but they are imprisoned together in Piefferburg, subjected to monitoring and attack from their enemy the Phaendir all whist being filmed for the reality show Faemous.
It is to me a fascinating take on the traditional myth one which incorporates modern society and its obsession with reality TV.
The first two books were great and this is another fabulous installment. We got to know Kieran a bit more in Cruel Enchantment but in Dark Enchantment we find the softer side behind the gruffness and begin to understand his family history. He is really very unique in the fae world and at times we do wonder if and how he will ever begin to overcome the curse falsely laid upon him. He is gruff and irreverent and downright sexy. His relationship with Charlotte does not get off on the right foot, they have no reason to trust each other and Charlotte is pulled to him through the erotic dreams they shared. Charlotte's family has it's own secrets, secrets which are held even from her and when shown to the light of day threaten everything she has ever known, including her safety.
Both Kieran and Charlotte are likeable characters, you want things to work out, even if the Gods are against them, you feel the heat coming off them and as usual this story as more twists and turns than a monkey puzzle tree. We are reunited with many of the faces from the previous books and throughout it all we again get a more fleshed out vision of the fae world, we also get to meet the Goblins in more detail and learn about their past. When we hear about what happened t the Faemous film crew when they went into the black tower I laughed out loud, in fact this book made me frequently laugh, hold my breath, long for success and grip the book so tight I almost crumpled it! The only down side, I wanted MORE! Selfish of me I know. Naill's book is next and I can't wait for it to come out.
I know this isn't the most indepth of reviews but all I can say is, if you want to take one series on holiday with you, take this, it is the perfect holiday read, it has it all! Trust me! A hot summer read, I give this book 5 frilly knickers out of 5!
It is to me a fascinating take on the traditional myth one which incorporates modern society and its obsession with reality TV.
The first two books were great and this is another fabulous installment. We got to know Kieran a bit more in Cruel Enchantment but in Dark Enchantment we find the softer side behind the gruffness and begin to understand his family history. He is really very unique in the fae world and at times we do wonder if and how he will ever begin to overcome the curse falsely laid upon him. He is gruff and irreverent and downright sexy. His relationship with Charlotte does not get off on the right foot, they have no reason to trust each other and Charlotte is pulled to him through the erotic dreams they shared. Charlotte's family has it's own secrets, secrets which are held even from her and when shown to the light of day threaten everything she has ever known, including her safety.
Both Kieran and Charlotte are likeable characters, you want things to work out, even if the Gods are against them, you feel the heat coming off them and as usual this story as more twists and turns than a monkey puzzle tree. We are reunited with many of the faces from the previous books and throughout it all we again get a more fleshed out vision of the fae world, we also get to meet the Goblins in more detail and learn about their past. When we hear about what happened t the Faemous film crew when they went into the black tower I laughed out loud, in fact this book made me frequently laugh, hold my breath, long for success and grip the book so tight I almost crumpled it! The only down side, I wanted MORE! Selfish of me I know. Naill's book is next and I can't wait for it to come out.
I know this isn't the most indepth of reviews but all I can say is, if you want to take one series on holiday with you, take this, it is the perfect holiday read, it has it all! Trust me! A hot summer read, I give this book 5 frilly knickers out of 5!
May 22, 2015
Dark Enchantment is the third book in the Dark Magick series by Anya Bast. One reason I like this series is that each book is focused on a different character. You should still technically read them in order since certain parts refer back to others, but you don't need to in order to enjoy the book.
This time we join Charlotte (a human) and Kieran (a fae) in search of the third and final piece of the bosca fadbh. It didn't exactly start this way for Charlotte though. It started as a very "intense" dream where she had lots of pleasure from whom we eventually learn is Kieran. But the difference in this dream is that she actually ended up bound to him, she just didn't know it. For Kieran, it was a last desperate attempt to eventually find that third piece since he was trapped in Piefferburg. Something else is that he's a member of the Unseelie (black) Court of the fae. That's the court where you'll find the not so happy-go-lucky fae.
With the bond that he makes, Kieran is able to basically force Charlotte to come to the city against her will. She is told what to say, how to act, to get in to the city. This is when she is finally taken to him and greats him with a giant punch to the face. What needs to happen is that another fae needs to travel through her thoughts and memories and down her maternal line to find out where the last piece is and how to get it. But along the way she also discovers a number of truths that were completely opposite of what her father made her believe. Not only did this help break through some walls that made her fear them, but Kieran took her to a number of places as well to try and settle her feelings. Unfortunately, one of those feelings neither of them expected to have later on was love...which is apparently the only way to retrieve the last piece. But it's the type of love that was needed to make it happen.
In a race between Charlotte and the Phaendir Archdirector to get that last piece, comes more revelations between her and Kieran. The question is, does she get the piece? What about her love for Kieran...does he return it in full? And what would having that final piece mean to the fae?
All this and more can be found out by reading this installment of the series with the fourth and final book in the series after that called Midnight Enchantment
All my reviews are honest and are personal opinion only. Comments are welcome below. No derogatory or bashing allowed as those will be deleted. Constructive only.
This time we join Charlotte (a human) and Kieran (a fae) in search of the third and final piece of the bosca fadbh. It didn't exactly start this way for Charlotte though. It started as a very "intense" dream where she had lots of pleasure from whom we eventually learn is Kieran. But the difference in this dream is that she actually ended up bound to him, she just didn't know it. For Kieran, it was a last desperate attempt to eventually find that third piece since he was trapped in Piefferburg. Something else is that he's a member of the Unseelie (black) Court of the fae. That's the court where you'll find the not so happy-go-lucky fae.
With the bond that he makes, Kieran is able to basically force Charlotte to come to the city against her will. She is told what to say, how to act, to get in to the city. This is when she is finally taken to him and greats him with a giant punch to the face. What needs to happen is that another fae needs to travel through her thoughts and memories and down her maternal line to find out where the last piece is and how to get it. But along the way she also discovers a number of truths that were completely opposite of what her father made her believe. Not only did this help break through some walls that made her fear them, but Kieran took her to a number of places as well to try and settle her feelings. Unfortunately, one of those feelings neither of them expected to have later on was love...which is apparently the only way to retrieve the last piece. But it's the type of love that was needed to make it happen.
In a race between Charlotte and the Phaendir Archdirector to get that last piece, comes more revelations between her and Kieran. The question is, does she get the piece? What about her love for Kieran...does he return it in full? And what would having that final piece mean to the fae?
All this and more can be found out by reading this installment of the series with the fourth and final book in the series after that called Midnight Enchantment
All my reviews are honest and are personal opinion only. Comments are welcome below. No derogatory or bashing allowed as those will be deleted. Constructive only.
April 7, 2011
Summary:
Charlotte was raised by her father to hate all fae. He always told her that the fae were hideous monsters and gave such horrific descriptions to her as a small child she suffered intense nightmares throughout her childhood and affected her as an adult. After an intense erotic dream one night with a gorgeous dream man, Charlotte goes to work like every other day, only suddenly she hears a voice in her compelling her to go to Piefferburg. Piefferburg is the absolute last place on earth as the home to all the monstrous fae. Charlotte fights against the voice to go but the compulsion is too strong and she gets on a plane and arrives at Piefferburg, pissed that her will was taken! Kieran is not happy that he had to use his compulsion of this human, as a love cursed man, he was never going to use the magick to bond a woman to him, but he had little choice. Charlotte has information locked in her maternal line that the Fae needs to obtain the last piece of the bosca fadbh. When Charlotte arrives and promptly punches him in the jaw he is grudgingly impressed and more attracted to her than he wished since he is going to be spending a lot of time with her until the bond runs its course. Charlotte finds out that she has the information to help the fae out of their “jail” but growing up with her father and his hatred she is not sure she wants to help out the fae but she has little choice. Kieran sets out to show Charlotte that the fae are not as bad as she has been imagining, but after several attempts on her life he is not sure that is possible. Despite herself Charlotte finds herself softening towards the fae and once Kieran works his Dream Wraith Magick on her she finds herself sympathetic to the fae cause and wanting to help them out by letting them into her brain. As Charlotte and Kieran are hiding out they get closer and closer, but if they fall in love neither will survive to have their happily ever after…
Review:
Click here to read the rest of my review
Charlotte was raised by her father to hate all fae. He always told her that the fae were hideous monsters and gave such horrific descriptions to her as a small child she suffered intense nightmares throughout her childhood and affected her as an adult. After an intense erotic dream one night with a gorgeous dream man, Charlotte goes to work like every other day, only suddenly she hears a voice in her compelling her to go to Piefferburg. Piefferburg is the absolute last place on earth as the home to all the monstrous fae. Charlotte fights against the voice to go but the compulsion is too strong and she gets on a plane and arrives at Piefferburg, pissed that her will was taken! Kieran is not happy that he had to use his compulsion of this human, as a love cursed man, he was never going to use the magick to bond a woman to him, but he had little choice. Charlotte has information locked in her maternal line that the Fae needs to obtain the last piece of the bosca fadbh. When Charlotte arrives and promptly punches him in the jaw he is grudgingly impressed and more attracted to her than he wished since he is going to be spending a lot of time with her until the bond runs its course. Charlotte finds out that she has the information to help the fae out of their “jail” but growing up with her father and his hatred she is not sure she wants to help out the fae but she has little choice. Kieran sets out to show Charlotte that the fae are not as bad as she has been imagining, but after several attempts on her life he is not sure that is possible. Despite herself Charlotte finds herself softening towards the fae and once Kieran works his Dream Wraith Magick on her she finds herself sympathetic to the fae cause and wanting to help them out by letting them into her brain. As Charlotte and Kieran are hiding out they get closer and closer, but if they fall in love neither will survive to have their happily ever after…
Review:
Click here to read the rest of my review
February 9, 2023
Having met the hero in her dreams, the heroine is furious when he compels her with magic to travel across the country into Fae lands to be his captive. The heroine's ancestors hold the answers to an artifact that's needed to set the fae free and though the hero is heavy hearted with guilt about kidnapping the woman, he's willing to do it for his people.
The heroine wants nothing to do with the hero or the fae. She's grown up in fear of them and has been raised by her father to hate them. Though she doesn't shared his hatred for them, she certainly isn't thrilled to be around them. And she and the hero are like oil and water. Despite the fact that he's used his own true bond to keep her in fae lands, he's cursed to never know love so it helps to allow him to distant himself from the compelling human.
I thought this book started off good. I liked the heroine who was pissed with everyone who had a hand in kidnapping her but who is mature enough to realized that it will save lives if she's able to give them what they're looking for. I didn't like the hero from the start. I thought him to be lukewarm and generic. He's altogether waay to flippant and dull to be an unseelie fae and a cursed one at that. I didn't feel the connection between the characters. One moment they go from strongly disliking each other to jumping into bed. It happened so fast and -I thought-without any reason. It was like a light switch went off and suddenly they were friends. It wasn't believable. Also I found the plot to be slow and horribly predictable. Nothing surprised me-and nothing much happened other than the random times someone would hold a knife to the heroines throat. The rest of the time it all about the damn Goblins eating the heroine-or so she fears. It was flat and lifeless for most of the book and I was surprised to see how many people liked it. This book was no where near 5 stars. Am I missing something?
The heroine wants nothing to do with the hero or the fae. She's grown up in fear of them and has been raised by her father to hate them. Though she doesn't shared his hatred for them, she certainly isn't thrilled to be around them. And she and the hero are like oil and water. Despite the fact that he's used his own true bond to keep her in fae lands, he's cursed to never know love so it helps to allow him to distant himself from the compelling human.
I thought this book started off good. I liked the heroine who was pissed with everyone who had a hand in kidnapping her but who is mature enough to realized that it will save lives if she's able to give them what they're looking for. I didn't like the hero from the start. I thought him to be lukewarm and generic. He's altogether waay to flippant and dull to be an unseelie fae and a cursed one at that. I didn't feel the connection between the characters. One moment they go from strongly disliking each other to jumping into bed. It happened so fast and -I thought-without any reason. It was like a light switch went off and suddenly they were friends. It wasn't believable. Also I found the plot to be slow and horribly predictable. Nothing surprised me-and nothing much happened other than the random times someone would hold a knife to the heroines throat. The rest of the time it all about the damn Goblins eating the heroine-or so she fears. It was flat and lifeless for most of the book and I was surprised to see how many people liked it. This book was no where near 5 stars. Am I missing something?
April 1, 2011
Dark Enchantment picks up shortly after the conclusion of the previous book and immediately jumps into a sexy adventure. Charlotte, a human with a Fae-Hating family reputation, wakes one morning after an intense, highly sexual dream and keeps hearing the voice of her dream-lover calling for her. Soon the calls become a compulsion that drives her to enter the gates of Piefferburg under false pretenses. She is scared but angry that one fae could make her do something she never wanted to do in her lifetime.
Charlotte and Kieran are well-matched. Both learn to overcome preconceived notions about the other. Charlotte learns that most fae are no more scary and dangerous than the human race. Kieran learns that Charlotte isn’t the bigoted human her father is. I really enjoy the continuing story arc of fae freedom, the Phaendir and its deliciously wicked leader, Brother Gideon P. Amberdoyal. I admire that Ms. Bast keeps the plot moving forward and doesn’t throw unnecessary roadblocks in to drag out the conflict.
Overall, Dark Enchantment is a very enjoyable book - one that can be read stand alone (if you haven’t read the series), but is probably best enjoyed by those that have read the earlier tales. Ms. Bast does a good job of informing readers about details from earlier stories necessary for understanding the overall plot. I highly recommend the entire Dark Magick series. It is an delightful paranormal romance series that doesn’t rely on the vampires and werewolves to entertain.
My Rating: 4.5 stars: Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
For my full review of the book, please visit my blog: http://twimom227.blogspot.com/2011/04...
Charlotte and Kieran are well-matched. Both learn to overcome preconceived notions about the other. Charlotte learns that most fae are no more scary and dangerous than the human race. Kieran learns that Charlotte isn’t the bigoted human her father is. I really enjoy the continuing story arc of fae freedom, the Phaendir and its deliciously wicked leader, Brother Gideon P. Amberdoyal. I admire that Ms. Bast keeps the plot moving forward and doesn’t throw unnecessary roadblocks in to drag out the conflict.
Overall, Dark Enchantment is a very enjoyable book - one that can be read stand alone (if you haven’t read the series), but is probably best enjoyed by those that have read the earlier tales. Ms. Bast does a good job of informing readers about details from earlier stories necessary for understanding the overall plot. I highly recommend the entire Dark Magick series. It is an delightful paranormal romance series that doesn’t rely on the vampires and werewolves to entertain.
My Rating: 4.5 stars: Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
For my full review of the book, please visit my blog: http://twimom227.blogspot.com/2011/04...
January 29, 2012
I have enjoyed reading this series from the beginning and I think that this is the best book so far.
Charlotte is forced to come to Piefferburg through a bond forged by Kieran through sexual dreams. She resists the pull of the bond as much as she can, but ultimately the magick is stronger. Kieran is forced to use magick on Charlotte to bond her to him so that she comes to Piefferburg. They need her to help find the last piece of the bosca fadbh, an ancient relic that is the key to the fae’s freedom.
There is one catch to the bond that Kieran has forged with Charlotte. If they fall in love with each other, they will both suffer a curse that Kieran is under. No chance of that happening right?
Since Charlotte is the key to finding this piece, she is thrust into a place that her father worked very hard to make her terrified to enter. But she finds out a lot about herself, her father and her mother. All the while she is trying to resist being attracted to Kieran.
Kieran is absolutely NOT going to fall in love with Charlotte. There is no way, even as he admires how she handles herself through all that is thrown at her during her time in Piefferburg.
It’s hot and sexy, mysterious and surprisingly emotional, at least for me it was. This was a great addition to the series. I would highly recommend. I cannot wait for the next installment!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2012
Charlotte Bennett’s father hated the fae with a vengeance and, as with anyone who is prejudice, raised her to loath them as well. She was told terrible story after terrible story since she was born. Ah, but what is the real reason her father hated the fae? Dun, dun, da. That is the question, isn’t it?
Anyhew, by this time in the series the fae have real hope of escaping the walls of Piefferburg, and they need Charlotte’s help. Kieran is an Unseelie who can use his magic to control Charlotte and he literally forces her to get to him by any means possible. Charlotte is of course afraid of what will become of her. Who wouldn’t when you’re reduced to a puppet?
When she meets Kieran, she instantly hates him, and her attraction to him is more than irritating. After a few escape attempts Charlotte agrees to help the fae in return for her freedom.
Through their journey Kieran systematically breaks down all of Charlotte’s preconceived notions about the fae and he inadvertently falls for her. But a terrible curse forces them apart. Kieran cannot ever fall in love without both of them dying.
I enjoyed the story, but some pats stated to lag and I did a bit of skipping when the yawning started. The end was a cliffhanger, which isn’t unexpected, but this particular cliffhanger left me feeling like they were about to get their asses handed to them by the evil Phaendir.
Anyhew, by this time in the series the fae have real hope of escaping the walls of Piefferburg, and they need Charlotte’s help. Kieran is an Unseelie who can use his magic to control Charlotte and he literally forces her to get to him by any means possible. Charlotte is of course afraid of what will become of her. Who wouldn’t when you’re reduced to a puppet?
When she meets Kieran, she instantly hates him, and her attraction to him is more than irritating. After a few escape attempts Charlotte agrees to help the fae in return for her freedom.
Through their journey Kieran systematically breaks down all of Charlotte’s preconceived notions about the fae and he inadvertently falls for her. But a terrible curse forces them apart. Kieran cannot ever fall in love without both of them dying.
I enjoyed the story, but some pats stated to lag and I did a bit of skipping when the yawning started. The end was a cliffhanger, which isn’t unexpected, but this particular cliffhanger left me feeling like they were about to get their asses handed to them by the evil Phaendir.
May 2, 2015
Actually had a ending, woot! Actually almost had two moments of tearing up which was something I wasn't expecting out of a book in this series. I'm still really not into Kieran as a character really. I mean the other characters were more like a real group of friends. Kieran just does NOT fit. And although his brother was a true psycho, Kieran had his less than peachy moments. I get he was probably like that do to the curse on him. But just wasn't for his attitude. I was glad though that the bad guy finally got knocked down a peg or two in this story. Just what I really can't believe is Charlotte was going around with astigmatism and acting like she had some of the best sight ever. As a person having astigmatism AND being near-sighted too, I for sure know that seeing through a haze even at a distance is a major strain on my eye balls. So I wished that Charlotte either had some new glasses made after she lost her's when she first arrived in the detention settlement. Or when, she left there(before returning) to at least get her contacts in. But to go a whole book with hazy vision, does not make for any kind of realistic safety at ALL.
November 26, 2013
In a land of magic, can love defeat a curse meant to destroy love? Kieran and Charlotte have to find this answer in Dark Enchantment. I thought the odds were so against Charlotte and Kieran as I began reading their story, and yet, as it unrolled I was amazed yet again just how strong the soul can be. I loved how when Charlotte should have had a closed mind to the Fae, she willingly learned and grew to like them. I felt so sad for Kieran fighting his heart due to a curse for something he never did. The action packed suspense drew me in as did the growing love between Charlotte and Kieran. As I learned more about the various groups in this world, the more I have to place my hopes with Fae in Piefferburg in winning this war. Unable to put this book down, I spent a very happy day watching Charlotte and Kieran discover love, and now I can't wait to see the next chapter as the Unseelie gear up for a war that will change the world one way or another. Dark Enchantment is a gripping story involving passion, suspense and murder with a plot that wouldn't let me put it down.
August 3, 2014
I love Anya's writing and respect what she tried to accomplish by creating this novel, but I HATE bigots! The way Charlotte kept yelling at the Fae every time things weren't going her way made me want to reach through the book and smack the crap out of her.
Sadly all that this book did was remind me why I don't read any Grisham instead of providing me the wonderful little break from reality that Anya normally delivers :(
I do plan to finish the series however and will keep my fingers crossed that I'm not to encounter another "heroine" as unpalatable as Charlotte. Sorry Anya but the more you tried to "explain" her attitude and behavior to the readers the less I liked this one because there really is no reason to hate another entire race and too many people in RL are either making weak excuses for people who are behaving that way or behaving that way themselves and puking up weak excuses for it afterwards as well as during in some instances and I can go on and on about it but I'll stop here.
Sadly all that this book did was remind me why I don't read any Grisham instead of providing me the wonderful little break from reality that Anya normally delivers :(
I do plan to finish the series however and will keep my fingers crossed that I'm not to encounter another "heroine" as unpalatable as Charlotte. Sorry Anya but the more you tried to "explain" her attitude and behavior to the readers the less I liked this one because there really is no reason to hate another entire race and too many people in RL are either making weak excuses for people who are behaving that way or behaving that way themselves and puking up weak excuses for it afterwards as well as during in some instances and I can go on and on about it but I'll stop here.
November 5, 2013
Kieran is harboring a cruel type of curse preventing him from ever falling in love with anyone; if doing so, he would be dooming himself and the woman who loves him as well.
Charlotte has been a well controlled person, always responsible, but after some amazing dream, a dreamscape created by Kieran, - a sexy dream - she finds herself with her will bent, following an impulse and a man’s voice to the only location she does t want to set her foot on. The world of the fae.
Well, with this introduction of the main characters already done, I’ll just let you know you will find more magic, more fae, more danger, more deaths, more EVERYTHING, and obviously truths will show up for our adorable Charlotte (big twist of fate for her, guys!). But you will fall in love with this couple; you will be happy and sad for them - you will even miss one for a brief moment.
For the full review plus snapshots click here
Charlotte has been a well controlled person, always responsible, but after some amazing dream, a dreamscape created by Kieran, - a sexy dream - she finds herself with her will bent, following an impulse and a man’s voice to the only location she does t want to set her foot on. The world of the fae.
Well, with this introduction of the main characters already done, I’ll just let you know you will find more magic, more fae, more danger, more deaths, more EVERYTHING, and obviously truths will show up for our adorable Charlotte (big twist of fate for her, guys!). But you will fall in love with this couple; you will be happy and sad for them - you will even miss one for a brief moment.
For the full review plus snapshots click here
April 29, 2012
A solid addition to the Dark Magick series. The first quarter of the book was slow and I had trouble getting into the story, but it quickly improved and kept me interested.
The love story was pretty formula (you can guess the ending), but I still enjoyed it. It was nice to see that the human heroine, Charlotte, realy was genuinely pretty plain and didn't suddenly crop up with crazy magical powers midway through the book.
I preferred to last two to this one, but the next in the series sounds good, so I will definitely take a look at it (it is about Niall, our mage-fae-thief, falling in love with a water fae who holds the last two pieces of the key that will free the fae).
The love story was pretty formula (you can guess the ending), but I still enjoyed it. It was nice to see that the human heroine, Charlotte, realy was genuinely pretty plain and didn't suddenly crop up with crazy magical powers midway through the book.
I preferred to last two to this one, but the next in the series sounds good, so I will definitely take a look at it (it is about Niall, our mage-fae-thief, falling in love with a water fae who holds the last two pieces of the key that will free the fae).
December 11, 2012
I liked this book better than the previous two books, but the Gideon story line is so tired. Blah. Anyway, Kieran wasn't nearly as alpha as the men in the other books, which was a relief, although Charlotte wasn't nearly as kickass so win one lose one there. The plots in this series of books always have the couple running off to the middle of nowhere (usually a cabin) to hide out from bad people for a bit. It's getting a bit tired.
April 11, 2011
When I first started reading this series I wasn't sure I wanted to continue, but I'm glad I did. I'm now officially hooked. I enjoyed the story of Kieran and Charlotte, and stayed up until almost 2 a.m. to get past their dark moment, sobbing like a baby. I had to get to their HEA. The book ended but I can deal with that. I'm looking forward to Niall's story in Midnight Enchantment.
August 30, 2020
This is the third book of the Dark Magick series by Anya Bast that tells us the story of Charlotte and Kieran.
Kieran is a Dream Wraith and he uses his powers to persuade Charlotte to come to Piefferberg. She is the key to save the Fae. Even without knowing it.
However, when some people found about this her life is put in danger. And Kieran has to keep her safe.
We get to know Kieran in the last books. We get to know about his curse. And I was really curious to know was his story was going to develop. And I have to say that his story was perfect and it didn't disappoint.
Kieran is a Dream Wraith and he uses his powers to persuade Charlotte to come to Piefferberg. She is the key to save the Fae. Even without knowing it.
However, when some people found about this her life is put in danger. And Kieran has to keep her safe.
We get to know Kieran in the last books. We get to know about his curse. And I was really curious to know was his story was going to develop. And I have to say that his story was perfect and it didn't disappoint.
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